right now, you don't owe taxes on the forgiven debt, on the other side of the fiscal cliff, you do. it expires on december 31st, unless congress acts. >> the average amount that homeowners are short in a short sale is $95,000. and if this tax break goes away, as part of the so-called fiscal cliff, those homeowners could be taxed on that $95,000 as additional income starting in 2013. >> how much homeowners will owe in taxes on that amount depends on the tax bracket they're in, but on average, it would be about 20 to $25,000. the banks have an extra incentive to sell short and absorb the loss. the nation's biggest lenders get a credit for short sales as a form of foreclosure relief. foreclosures also sell on average for $30,000 less than homes sold via short sale. so as we near the fiscal cliff, you can expect short sales even more as homeowners get hit with bank taxes and banks get stuck with foreclosed properties. if we go over the cliff, the taxpayer's base with a short sale may be steep enough to walk away instead. and that would push the fiscal cliff higher for 2013. i'm christin